• Bitcoin network is set to experience a difficulty increase of 10% on Jan. 15, 2023.
• The current hash rate of the network is at 268.79 exahash per second (EH/s).
• Foundry USA and Antpool command nearly half of the global hashrate.
The Bitcoin (BTC) network is bracing for a notable difficulty increase in the next three days, on or around Jan. 15, 2023. The measure of how difficult it is to find a new block and add it to the blockchain, known as mining difficulty, is set to rise from 34.09 trillion to an all-time high of 37.57 trillion. This increase has not been recorded since October 2022.
At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency network’s hash rate is at 268.79 exahash per second (EH/s). On Jan. 6, 2023, the network’s computational power reached an all-time high at 361.20 EH/s. Meanwhile, Bitcoin block times, also known as block intervals, have been between 8 minutes, 52 seconds, and 9 minutes, 6 seconds in length. The actual time between blocks can vary from this average, and since the last difficulty change on Jan. 2, 2023, at block height 770,112, block intervals have been faster.
By looking at the current hashrate, it can be seen that Foundry USA and Antpool command nearly half of the network’s global hashrate. These two mining pools have been dominating the Bitcoin mining industry for quite some time now, and their influence only continues to grow. As a result, it is likely that these two mining pools will benefit the most from the upcoming difficulty increase.
It is important to note that the difficulty increase is designed to keep the block time around 10 minutes per block and is necessary for the network’s security. The difficulty retarget is expected to boost hashrate requirements, and it will be interesting to see how the network responds to the increase.
Overall, the Bitcoin network is about to experience a notable difficulty increase in the next three days which will bring the mining difficulty to an all-time high. This increase is expected to benefit the two leading mining pools, Foundry USA and Antpool, as they command a significant percentage of the global hashrate. The difficulty retarget is necessary to keep the network secure and it will be interesting to see how the network responds to the increase.
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